Dan the List Guy: Rock’s Greatest Tragedies
The List Guy is Dan Reed, Music Director for WXPN. Three times a week, Dan gives his spin on Top 10 musical moments in pop culture.
The history of rock & roll is filled with triumph, but also scarred by tragedy. It may be the nature of the business (or human nature in general) that make these moments very painful to reflect upon. Here – in no particular order – are 10 of the worst times:
1. The 1969 Altamont/Rolling Stones Concert
2. John Lennon’s Murder
3. Kurt Cobain’s suicide
4. The 1979 Who concert tragedy in Cincinnati
5. “The Day The Music Died” – The Iowa plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens & The Big Bopper
6. The 1970 deaths of Jimi Hendrix & Janis Joplin (within three weeks of each other)
7. The helicopter crash that killed Stevie Ray Vaughan
8. The Station Night Club fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island during a Great White concert
9. The shooting deaths of rap stars Tupac Shakur & the Notorious B.I.G. within six months of one another in 1996-1997
10. Two members of Badfinger hang themselves (Pete Ham in 1975, Tom Evans in 1983)
I don’t see death due to self -destructive behavior as a tragedy,wrt Hendrix and Joplin. A damn shame, no doubt, but not a tragedy.
July 20th, 2007 at 4:19 pmDon’t forget Duane Allman killed in motorcycle accident in ‘71, the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash in ‘77 and Bob Marley’s death from Cancer in ‘77.
If you’re going to discount self-destructive behavior, that would eliminate the suicides as well. Actually, you could probably do lists for suicides and drug overdoses.
July 22nd, 2007 at 6:24 pmHow can you forget the the plane that killed Ronnie Van Zandt, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines of Lynard Skynard.
Berry Oakley of the Allman Brothers dies in Motorcycle accident.
Tragic deaths at Roskilde Festival.
July 26th, 2007 at 10:34 pmThere’s a long list of artists who died much too young who deserve at least “honorable mention” here:
Jim Croce
Nick Drake
Sandy Denny
Tim Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Kirsty MacColl
As the late Kurt Vonnegut liked to say, so it goes….
July 30th, 2007 at 7:54 pmElvis? No mention of Elvis?
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:39 amThe death of Eric Clapton’s son
The death of Jerry Garcia, Jeff Buckley, and Bob Marley